(19) TZZ _Z_Z_T (11) EP 2 710 150 B1 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION (45) Date of publication and mention (51) Int Cl.: of the grant of the patent: C12Q 1/68 (2006.01) 24.08.2016 Bulletin 2016/34 (86) International application number: (21) Application number: 12785674.8 PCT/US2012/037981 (22) Date of filing: 15.05.2012 (87) International publication number: WO 2012/158711 (22.11.2012 Gazette 2012/47) (54) IDENTIFICATION OF THE CAUSATIVE MUTATION FOR INHERITED CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISORDERS IN EQUINES IDENTIFIKATION KAUSATIVER MUTATIONEN FÜR VERERBTE BINDEGEWEBSERKRANKUNGEN BEI PFERDEN IDENTIFICATION DE LA MUTATION RESPONSABLE DE TROUBLES DU TISSU CONJONCTIF HÉRÉDITAIRES CHEZ LES ÉQUIDÉS (84) Designated Contracting States: • VL MARSHALL ET AL: "Cutaneous asthenia in a AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB Warmblood foal", AUSTRALIAN VETERINARY GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO JOURNAL, vol. 89, no. 3, 16 February 2011 PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR (2011-02-16), pages 77-81, XP055147733, ISSN: 0005-0423, DOI: (30) Priority: 16.05.2011 US 201161486464 P 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2010.00683.x • HEATHER N. YEOWELL ET AL: "Mutations in the (43) Date of publication of application: Lysyl Hydroxylase 1 Gene That Result in Enzyme 26.03.2014 Bulletin 2014/13 Deficiency and the Clinical Phenotype of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type VI", MOLECULAR (73) Proprietor: Cornell University GENETICS AND METABOLISM, vol. 71, no. 1-2, 1 Ithaca, NY 14850 (US) September 2000 (2000-09-01), pages 212-224, XP055147978, ISSN: 1096-7192, DOI: (72) Inventor: WINAND, Nena, J. 10.1006/mgme.2000.3076 Groton, NY 13073 (US) • Anonymous:"Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrom)", VET-Magazin.de, 1 (74) Representative: O’Connell, Maura December 2012 (2012-12-01), XP002731439, FRKelly Retrieved from the Internet: 27 Clyde Road URL:http://dfpcorec-p.internal.epo.org/wf/ Dublin D04 F838 (IE) web/citenpl/citenpl.html?_url=http%3A%2F%2 Fwww.vet-magazin.de%2Fprint%2FLYmpheqFg (56) References cited: -mK o-O-7jXSp1.pdf [retrieved on 2014-10-21] WO-A1-2008/121727 US-A1- 2004 137 470 • DATABASE GENBANK [Online] 30 December US-A1- 2009 258 360 US-A1- 2011 265 193 2010 ’Equine Articular Cartilage cDNA Library Equus caballus cDNA clone CT020012B10E10’, XP003030299 Database accession no. CX595913 - CT020012B10E10 • DATABASE GENBANK [Online] 30 December 2010 ’Equine Articular Cartilage cDNA Library Equus caballus cDNA clone CT020018B10E01’, XP003030300 Database accession no. CX597645 - CT020018B10E01 Note: Within nine months of the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to that patent, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. Notice of opposition shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention). EP 2 710 150 B1 Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR) EP 2 710 150 B1 Description [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application serial no. 61/486,464, filed on May 16, 2011. 5 FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to inherited disease observed in horses. More particularly, the invention relates to detecting a point mutation in the equine lysyl hydroxylase 1 (LH1) gene associated with Fragile Foal Syndrome Type 1. 10 DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART [0003] Inherited connective tissue disorders occur in a variety of species. They are known by many names and are associated with many different underlying genetic defects. Nonetheless, they all present with skin hyperextensibility. 15 Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome Type 1 (WFFST1) occurs in the Warmblood horse population which are a group of mid-sized horse types primarily originating in Europe, developed with the aim of competing in Olympic equestrian sports (often called Sport Horses). The presently available pedigree data shows that Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome Type 1 segregates in the Hanoverian, Selle Francais, KWPN (Dutch), Oldenburg, and Westphalian lines. These registries, as well as the Holsteiner, Wurtemberger, Rhinelander, Gelderlander, Zweibrucker and Bavarian Warmblood are central 20 to all Warmblood/Sport Horse registries, placing all horses among the broader group of registries at risk for carrying this disorder. A partial list of many of the registries includes: Hanoverian; Selle Francais; KWPN; Oldenburg; Rhinelander; Holsteiner; Westphalian; Gelderlander; American Warmblood; Anglo-Norman; Austrian Warmblood; Bavarian Warm- blood; Belgian Warmblood (including Belgian Half-blood); Canadian Sport Horse; Danish Warmblood; Brazilian Sport Horse; Friesian Sport Horse; German Warmblood ZfDP; Czech Warmblood; Irish Sport Horse; Karossier/Ostfriesen/Alt- 25 Oldenburger; Hungarian Warmblood; Romanian Sport HorseSwedish Warmblood; Swiss Warmblood; Wurttemberger; and Zweibrucker. There is an ongoing an unmet need to identify the mutation that causes WFFST1 and to develop compositions and methods for determining which horses carry it and which horses do not. The present invention meets these and other needs. 30 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The presentinvention is basedon the discoveryof themutation associated with WFFST1.The method comprises testing a biological sample obtained or derived from a horse to identify the presence of a G to A mutation in the equine lysyl hydroxylase 1 (LH1) gene. The location of the change will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the amino 35 acid and nucleotide sequences described herein. In one embodiment, the mutation is at a nucleotide position 2086 of the cDNA produced using mRNA transcribed from an LH1 gene which contains the mutation. This cDNA is presented in Figure 4 as SEQ ID NO:4. Determining a G to A mutation in only one allele establishes that the horse is heterozygous for the WFFST1 mutation and can thus be identified as a carrier. Determining the G to A mutation in both alleles establishes that the horse is homozygous for the WFFST1 mutation and can thus be identified as affected or predisposed 40 to developing WFFST1. Determining an absence of the G to A mutation in both alleles establishes that the horse is homozygous for the absence of the allele and is indicative that the horse is genetically normal with respect to WFFST1. [0005] The mutation can be determined from DNA or RNA, or from a cDNA amplified from RNA, or from protein obtained from a horse. In one embodiment, the presence of the mutation is identified by determining the presence of a polynucleotide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, which is a PCR product obtained by amplification of a segment 45 of the LH1 gene from a horse, the genome of which comprised the mutation. In another embodiment, determining the presence of the mutation comprises determining a change from G to A at position 4 in the sequence of SEQ ID NO:6, which is the wild type sequence of exon 19 of the equine LH1 gene. The sequence of exon 19 comprising the mutation is presented as SEQ ID NO:7. [0006] In various embodiments, determining the presence of the WFFST1 mutation (irrespective of heterozygosity or 50 homozygosity for it) establishes that the horse is not genetically normal with respect to WFFST1. Determining the absence of the mutation (irrespective of heterozygosity or homozygosity for its absence) establishes that the horse is not affected with WFFST1. [0007] Also provided is a method for selecting horses for breeding. This aspect comprises obtaining a biological sample from a horse, testing the biological sample to detect the WFFST1 mutation and, based on analysis of the allelic status 55 for the WFFST1 mutation, breeding horses that are genetically normal or heterozygous for it with horses that are ge- netically normal with respect to WFFST1. [0008] Isolated nucleic acids which comprise the mutation are also provided by the invention. 2 EP 2 710 150 B1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] 5 Figure 1A provides a photographic representation of excessive skin elasticity that is typical of horses affected with WFFST1. Figure 1B provides a photographic representation of a skin lesion that is typical of horses affected with WFFST1. Figure 2 provides the sequence of wild type equine LH1 cDNA (SEQ ID NO:2). The wild type bases at the positions of the mutation (base 2086) is bold and enlarged. Non-informative non-coding region single nucleotide polymor- 10 phisms (SNPs) are located at bases 2320 and 2580 (when the A of the ATG translational start codon beginning at position 55 is designated as nucleotide 1). Either G or A may occur at these positions in wild-type alleles. Thus there are two additional nucleotides depicted in this sequence in Figure 2 than would exist in the cDNA, which is for convenience of illustrating this variability. In the depicted sequence the A of the ATG codon is at position 55. The translational stop codon is position 2182-2184 when designating the A at position 55 as nucleotide number 1. 15 Figure 3 provides the wild type equine LH1 polypeptide sequence (727 amino acids; SEQ ID NO:3). The position of the amino acid in the normal peptide corresponding to the position of the change in mutation is bold and enlarged. Figure 4 provides the sequence of a mutant equine LH1 cDNA (SEQ ID NO:4). The position of the mutation is 2032 (when the A at position 55 is designated nucleotide 1), and non-informative, non-coding region SNPs are bold and enlarged. These are respectively at 2320 and 2580. The A of the ATG codon at 55 is bold and enlarged. The 20 translational stop codon is position 2182-2184, and is bold and enlarged. When the first nucleotide of the sequence is counted as nucleotide number 1, the mutation is at position 2086 and the other features of the sequence described above can take their numerical positions in relation to this numbering convention.